20 Best Cancer Anime Characters Ranked By Popularity
Birthdays are important in the anime world just as much as it is in real life. It is a means of celebration that fans can also take part in, but many creators tend to design their characters based on the sign they are born under. If you take a closer look at a couple of characters, you can notice that some of them show their sign’s personality traits to a T.
For this article, let’s focus on our characters born under the Cancer sign. These are characters born between June 22 and July 22. They are the fourth zodiac sign and have the crab as their symbol. They tend to be difficult to understand, but on a positive note, they are pretty devoted and even loving. However, they tend to be hyper-emotional and spiteful.
Here are 20 popular cancer sign characters in anime. Do they fit the bill when it comes to their characteristics, or did their creators decide not to follow the national method of character creation?
20. Ryuko Tsuchikawa – My Hero Academia
Birthday: June 26
Cancers have always been hard to understand, and Ryuko of the hero team Wild, Wild Pussycats is no different. While she is definitely more hyperactive, as a pro hero, she is dedicated to using her Quirk to benefit society. This cat-themed hero isn’t afraid to show off her claws when it comes to taking down villains.
Sadly we don’t get to see a lot of her anymore in recent chapters. However, fans are grateful to know that she and the rest of her team had decided to continue their hero work despite being shunned by society in recent chapters of the manga.
19. Hinata Miyake – A Place Further than the Universe
Birthday: July 20
Cancers are very turbulent and are often mixed with Geminis, who have contradicting traits. Still, A Cancer’s personality is usually just a mix of different positive and negative traits that are pretty clear in their personality. Hinata is a spunky individual, but she also keeps her own secrets. Often, she is helpful and creative. However, on the other hand, she can be gossipy and hard to understand.
18. Nami – One Piece
Birthday: July 3
Despite denying caring about her crew, her actions speak louder than her words. Nami is a crew member that puts her teammates and friends above herself and is usually one of the members willing to talk through her problems.
Nami was introduced in the series as a petty thief and pickpocketer who has a talent for maps and navigation. She was a subordinate of Arlong but was freed from her service and joined the Straw Hat Pirates. It’s her goal to create a map of the Grand Line, a dream she can possibly fulfill if she voyages with Luffy to search for treasure.
17. Kikyo – Inuyasha
Birthday: July 7
She doesn’t seem like she fits into the Cancer personality type all too well. It might be because she spends most of the series being mysterious and distant. Perhaps a few negative traits from the Cancer sign, but it isn’t exactly there.
Kikyo was a shrine priestess in the series and lived 50 years before the start of the first Inuyasha series. She is the priestess responsible for purifying the Shikon Jewel, and she was also the former lover of Inuyasha.
16. Moriko Morioka – Recovery of an MMO Junkie
Birthday: July 20
Do you know what’s a Cancer like-thing to do? Stay at home and indulge in their favorite hobby! Take Moriko from Recovery of an MMO Junkie, for example; she went through lengths and quit her job to play video games full time. She serves as the anime’s main protagonist. She is a 30-year-old single NEET. After working in sales after graduating, she decided to pursue her own happiness and decided to stay at home playing MMOs to obtain things she cannot have in the real world.
15. Suzaku Kururugi – Code Geass
Birthday: July 10
Typical for a Cancer, Suzaku is more than willing to make sacrifices for the benefit of the people. However, his perception of justice may be a bit questionable. Suzaku is the son of the last prime minister of Japan. Suzaku became friends with both Lelouch and Nunnally when they moved into his house as a peace trade. He and Lelouch eventually grew into becoming best friends but were separated when Britannia invaded Japan.
14. Ritsu Kageyama – Mob Psycho 100
Birthday July 2
Here’s something that was probably missed when I described a Cancer’s usual personality traits. Sometimes Cancers tend to hyper-focus and obsess over a single person to the point they can self-destruct. They can attach a negative or positive feeling such as fear or love to a person. In Ritsu’s case, he couldn’t handle the overwhelming fear plus inferiority he feels every time he thinks about his older brother Mob.
13. Tsumugi Kotobuki – K-On!
Birthday: July 2
Cancers aren’t always bad people; a good example of a positive Cancer is HTT’s Tsumugi. She’s ditzy, kind, and caring. She’s always ready to fill up the bellies of her bandmates with all sorts of snacks and tea after school. Mugi is one of the five leading characters in K-On. She is in charge of musical composition in the band and plays the keyboard during lives.
Originally Mugi wanted to join the choir, only to stumble upon Ritsu and Mio, who were making plans on reopening the Light Music Club. After seeing the two’s interesting friendship, she decided to stick around and join the club as well. Being raised wealthy, Mugi would often try to try more common and everyday things that other girls get to experience.
12. Spike Spiegal – Cowboy Bebop
Birthday: June 26
Not the best example of a Cancer, Spike is his own breed of Cancer sign. Spike used to be a member of the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate. He eventually left the group by faking his own death shortly after falling in love with Julia.
After leaving both the Syndicate and Julia, Spike lived the life of a bounty hunter, otherwise known as a Space Cowboy. He partnered up with Jet, who captains their home ship, the Bebop. But unfortunately, no one can escape the Syndicate as Spike is once again drawn back into their feuds.
11. Takashi Natsume – Natsume’s Book of Friends
Birthday: July 1
Another classically kind Cancer is Takashi Natsume, who shows dedication in returning the names of the Yokai found in the Book of Friends his grandmother has procured. Like his grandmother, Natsume has strong spiritual powers that allow him to see and interact with Yokai. This was an ability he grew to loath, but recently he’s been grateful for the ability.
After he inherited his late grandmother’s Book of Friends, he decided to return the names instead of using them to gain even more powers.
10. Ichigo Kurosaki – Bleach
Birthday: July 15
Ichigo’s protectiveness over his friends and family has us thinking that this might be the influence of the Cancer sign. However, his hot-headedness and stubborn personality make it seem otherwise. Ichigo is the substitute Shinigami main character in the series titled Bleach.
At a young age, Ichigo displayed an unusual ability for humans. He was able to see Pluses. At times Ichigo could hardly tell the living from the dead. This caused people to think he had the habit of talking to himself. He eventually joined the ranks of the Shinigami around his high school years.
9. Natsu Dragneel – Fairy Tail
Birthday: July 7
Natsu’s insatiable appetite for food and desire to protect his friends is pretty spot on when it comes to Cancer characteristics. However, his bold and typical shounen main character personality might make people think he falls under a different sign. Natsu is a combat-based mage from the magic guild Fairy Tail. He died 400 years ago before the series and was revived as Etherious to defeat his brother.
Aside from that, Natsu is also one of the five Dragon Slayers from the past that was sent to the future to defeat Acnologia.
8. Kaori Miyazono – Your Lie in April
Birthday: July 4
Cancers are known for their tremendous energy and ability to socialize with almost anyone. Despite battling a severe illness, people can count on Kaori to bring life to any party. Unlike most classical musicians who are rather stiff and traditional, Kaori brings a whole new flavor to how she plays her music.
As a kid, she loved listening to Kousei’s piano and took up the violin to someday play with him. She attends Sumiya Junior High School as a junior and belongs to the same class as Tsubaki. Her goal is to get Kousei to return to music again and let go of the trauma caused by his mother’s death.
7. Usagi Tsukino – Sailor Moon
Birthday June 30
Emotional, caring, empathetic, and a love for food are definite Cancer traits that Usagi has. Usagi’s alter ego Sailor Moon is the Sailor Guardian of Love and Justice. She is originally from the Moon Kingdom but was reborn in the current time on Earth. Eventually, Usagi took on the role of the leader of the Sailor Senshi.
According to Naoko Takeuchi, she actually did draw her personality from several things, including her Zodiac sign. Usagi can transform into Sailor Moon when she calls out her transformation phrase. Her ability has moonlight, love, healing, and purification attributes as a guardian.
6. Izuku Midoriya – My Hero Academia
Birthday: July 15
Izuku’s desire to save people and be a hero are some excellent examples of Cancer traits. In the anime, My Hero Academia, he is also referred to as his hero name Deku. Deku has always desired to be a hero like his idol, All Might. But, unfortunately, he was born Quirkless. But thanks to his desire to help despite not having a quirk, All Might chose him as the next inheritor of All Might’s One For All quirk.
Since inheriting his quirk, Deku became a student at a prestigious Hero School known as U.A. High School and has had to use his abilities to fight off several villains who are interested in his quirk.
5. Touka Kirishima – Tokyo Ghoul
It’s hard to tell if Touka is a Cancer or not, but she is born under the sign. With all the trauma she experienced, fans will have to forgive that her personality might not exactly be on point. Touka is a ghoul who wears a rabbit mask while hunting. This prop earned her the alias rabbit. She is a student at Kiyomi High School and also worked as a waitress at Anteiku café.
4. Haruka Nanase – Free!
Birthday: June 30
While Haruka doesn’t display a lot of Cancer-like characteristics, let’s not forget that Cancer is a water sign. When a fan thinks of water, Haruka is probably one of the characters that would pop into your mind. So in one way, the Cancer sign is perfect for him. Haru is a freestyle swimmer who used to swim for the Iwatobi High School Swim Club, in which he acted as the vice-captain of the said club.
Currently, he is attending Hidaka University, where he joined its swim club so he can become a professional swimmer. Haruka has always had a love for water and has started swimming competitively as early as elementary. His first relay team was composed of Rin, Makoto, Nagisa, and himself.
3. Neji Hyuuga – Naruto
Birthday: July 3
Neji didn’t get to show off his Cancer traits till his untimely death in the Shinobi War. Neji is a shinobi who was born into the Hyuuga clan and was noted to be one of the clan’s strongest fighters. He willingly gave up his life for Hinata and Naruto during Naruto Shippuden.
2. Nagisa Shiota – Assassination Classroom
Birthday: July 20
At first, it wasn’t clear, but in Assassination Classroom’s epilogue, Nagisa chose a very Cancer-like occupation—a teacher. Nagisa acts as the series’ narrator and is also the main character. Despite his passive nature, as the story progresses, Nagisa discovers he has a natural talent for assassination.
Before the start of the series, Nagisa was a student of Class D and became close friends with his fellow classmate, Karma. However, the two slowly drifted apart following Karma’s suspension. Because Nagisa had poor grades, he eventually dropped to Class E, where he met Kaede and reunited with Karma, who also got dropped into the class because of getting into trouble.
1. Killua Zoldyck – Hunter x Hunter
Birthday: July 7
Fans don’t get to see much Cancer-like traits from Killua, but that might be thanks to his upbringing as a member of the Zoldyck family. But on rare occasions, we see him with Gon; fans get to witness Killua as a kid who loves snacking on sweets. Killua is one of the sons of Silva and Kikyo and the heir to their family. However, he runs away from home and pursues a career as a Rookie Hunter. It was after he left home that he became friends with Gon.
In Hunter X Hunter, the characters change their role in the series depending on the arcs. For Killua, he mainly serves as a deuteragonist for areas like the Heaven Arena, Greed Island, and Chimera Ant. However, he gets his chance as the lead character in the 13th Hunter Chairman Elections. As of the manga’s hiatus, Killua is currently traveling with his sibling, Alluka.